The Beginning of Something Beautiful
by Mr. Grinch - a mean one
Summary: You have the ability to control electricity. You got your power back when you were being experimented on as a HYDRA prisoner and the lab was struck by lightning. After years of mental and physical recovery from her imprisonment, you are now a member of the Avengers. When Bucky joins the team, you feel like you've finally found someone who understands what you've been through.


**Note:** This story takes place after the events of the original Avengers movie, but everything's pretty much smoothed over. The crew all live in Stark Tower together now. They are running standard SHIELD missions, but the events of Age of Ultron haven't happened yet. (This means there will be no Wanda, Pietro, Wakanda, Peter, etc.) Despite this, Bucky has been freed from HYDRA's control and is now acclimating to regular life as an Avenger.

 **Intro:** The entire team is currently on a mission in the frozen boreal forests of Russia. They have intel on a nearby HYDRA base which SHIELD wants them to eliminate. This is Bucky's first big mission with the team, so he's not really used to how it works. Everyone is staying the night in an abandoned SHIELD bunker.

You lay awake in your sleeping bag. Ever since you were kidnapped by HYDRA, you've found it hard to sleep, and your dreams are often plagued by nightmares about being back there. While it's gotten much better over the years, you always have trouble sleeping in unfamiliar places. It's times like this when you think back on your history with SHIELD, especially Agent Coulson - the man responsible for your rehabilitation. He's like a father to you and the two of you have lunch every week when your schedules allow for it. You're just drifting off into an old memory when you hear the floor creak behind you.

You peer over your shoulder and make out a figure moving toward the door. You squint at the silhouette and quickly survey the area around you, trying to identify who isn't in their sleeping bag. Bucky. It has to be Bucky. By the time you realize who it is, he's already left the room. You deliberate whether or not to follow. On the one hand, you don't know Bucky very well and you're honestly a bit scared of him. On the other hand, Steve trusts him and you trust Steve, so he's probably a good guy. You briefly weigh your options and ultimately decide to go find him. After all, you're not getting any sleep so you might as well go see what's up. You silently slide out of the sleeping bag and creep toward the door, taking care not to disturb any of your sleeping team members.

You carefully swing the door open and look around. The room is illuminated by a massive fireplace. You blink at the sudden brightness and spot Bucky sitting on the floor, just staring into the fire. He has a blanket draped over his shoulders. For a moment, you just stand watching him. He hasn't noticed you yet, and at first he seems so serene, gazing into the flames as if in a trance. But after a moment, you realize that his shoulders are quivering - he's crying. Hoping to comfort him, you quietly move across the room towards him. Once you're close enough, you brush his blanketed shoulder with your hand. He immediately spins around and before you can act or speak, his metal hand is tightly gripping your throat.

As soon as he realizes who you are, he immediately releases his hold, a worried expression clouding his face. You fall back, but catch yourself with your hands. You take a gasp of air after having the wind knocked out of you by Bucky's metal arm. "Oh god, (Y/N)! I'm so sorry, I didn't realize it was you. I would have never done that if I'd known. I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Bucky hurriedly whispers.

Gently massaging your throat, you nod and say in a hushed tone, "Yeah I'm fine. I shouldn't have snuck up behind you like that. It wasn't your fault."

"You're sure you're okay?" he asks again.

You nod again and say, "Yeah don't worry I'm fine."

Bucky still looks concerned, so you offer him a smile to prove just how fine you really are. His expression softens somewhat and, for a moment, the two of you just stare at each other.

You break the silence when you murmur a question,"Nightmares?"

Bucky opens his mouth as if to deny your assertion, but then closes it, furrows his brow, and simply nods instead. He knows you can see the tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.

"I get them too," you say.

"Do they ever get better?" he asks.

You offer a kind smile and say, "Better, yes. But I don't think they'll ever really go away."

Bucky turns his gaze back to the fire. "Didn't think they would." he mutters.

The two of you sit in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the warmth and light of the fire. This is the first time you've had a real conversation with Bucky - just the two of you and you don't want to push your luck, but you feel obligated to make some attempt to console him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" you inquire in a gentle tone.

He glances at you briefly before responding,"Not really."

"That's fine," you say, "do you want me to talk or…" you trail off for a moment but then chime back in, "I mean I can go if you want, I just thought you might not want to be alone. I sometimes like to listen to someone else talk for a while to distract myself."

Bucky shifts his position somewhat, turning slightly toward you. "Yes. Talk. About anything." he says.

You take a deep breath and consider what to talk about. You think about telling him the story of the battle in New York, but reconsider after you realize how violent it is. Then, you pick out the perfect topic: Steve. Your friendship with Steve was pretty much the only other thing you could think of that the two of you had in common, so you start talking. You tell him about how you met, when you became friends, and all the weird little things he does. You tell him about how the two of you train together, and how you usually win in sparring. Bucky's demeanor is soon much less grim, and a couple of times, you think you might even see a hint of a smile on his lips. You go on for nearly two hours.

You trail off in the story you're telling to check your watch: 4:24 A.M. "Some of them will be getting up soon," you murmur, "we should probably get back in there before anyone realizes we're gone."

Bucky nods.

You begin moving to stand up when you pause for a moment to say, "If you ever have any more nightmares you want to talk about or not talk about, I'll always be here."

Bucky doesn't look up, but you swear you can see a faint smile on his face. You return to the sleeping room just as silently as you had left it and slip back into your sleeping bag. A few minutes later, you see Bucky do the same. For the next half hour you mull over your talk. You hope you were able to help him, even if just a little bit. At 5:00 A.M., Clint's alarm goes off and everyone begins to stir. You sigh and begin to collect yourself for the day ahead.


End file.
